This year marks the 25th anniversary of Macross, the seminal Japanese anime that was transformed into the first act of the American cartoon Robotech.

I have been a huge Robotech geek since I was a kid and since coming to Japan, I've become a serious Macross Otaku, much to my wife's annoyance and the amusement of my students. But hey, everyone needs a hobby, right? Anyway, I've managed, over the years to watch the original Japanese series as well as the subsequent sequels and sidestories.

(Note for the uninitiated – The Macross series and the Robotech franchise differ widely after the initial run. The Macross series continues with Macross Plus, Macross 7, Macross Zero, while Robotech has the second and third acts as well as this years Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles.)

All of which leads to this year's Macross Frontier. The series, so far, has been fun, with a lot of throwbacks and references to the classic series as well as to the story presented in Macross Zero. And while the basic tropes are the same (handsome boy rescues girl from evil alien attack; she flirts and teases with him while another girl looks on and pines; music saves the day) there are enough new details and twists to make the series fun for longtime fans geeks.

For those wanting a more detailed synopses, I'll direct you to the (startlingly informed) Wikipedia article, rather than try to sum up everything myself.

Thanks to the power of YouTube and the internet fan community, most of the episodes are available with (questionable) fan subtitles in English.

Macross Frontier – Episode One, Part One

As I said, this is a fun series with lots of references to the classics that most fans should enjoy. Well worth checking out.